TRUSSVILLE, Alabama – A first glance at the 5-foot, 2-inch Taylor Beshears doesn’t make you think catcher.

She has been on the receiving end of the “You’re a catcher?” look.

“People ask me what position I play, and I say catcher, and they say ‘catcher? You’re too small, you don’t look like a catcher,’” Beshears said.

You would probably think the Hewitt-Trussville junior would be a third baseman, or a shortstop. Maybe you could even see her in the outfield.

None of that is a stretch. Beshears has been versatile enough to play all those positions since joining the Huskies varsity team as a seventh grader. It’s what makes her unique.

And she loves it.

“I do actually,” Beshears said. “You just get an opportunity to do more things and make different kinds of plays.”

The Birmingham News Metro North/East Player of the Year, Beshears spent most of this season behind the plate, where she feels most comfortable, and turned in one of the best offensive performances in the area. She hit .478 with 16 home runs, 37 RBIs and her 1.52 hits per game was third best in the Metro area.

Beshears was a big reason the Huskies made another deep run into the Class 6A playoffs. Hewitt-Trussville finished 33-16 and won the Area 12 title before bowing out of the state playoffs in the North Central Regional.

Not having the usual catcher’s physique plays to Beshears’ strengths, her speed and versatility. Offensively she had 14 doubles, six triples, and 21 stolen bases – not the usual statistics for a catcher.

“There isn’t anything she can’t do offensively,” said Hewitt-Trussville Athletic Director Karen Johns, who has coached softball at the college level at both Florida and Virginia. “She can fly like a deer.”

Defensively she can move around and get to pitches and passed balls others may not.

Beshears first started playing catcher early in her travel team days when her squad needed someone behind the plate. She volunteered and has not regretted it.

“Catching is my main position, I love catching,” Beshears said. “It just comes naturally to me and it’s just where I’ve been playing for a really long time.”

In a time when specialization has become the norm, moving around has been a blast. Beshears, who has verbally committed to Arkansas, started the season behind the plate but moved to shortstop early due to an injury. She played a handful of games there, then went back to her catcher/third base rotation.

“I can play anywhere, but I’ve never played first or pitcher,” Beshears said.